Therese Umerlik

The Flexible Packaging Association’s (FPA’s) biweekly tariff update includes some practical links to online information about recent developments with trade initiatives. The April 22, 2025, newsletter notes that the tariff landscape continues to shift, making many new developments quickly outdated. But the newsletter, which is only available to FPA members, provides useful links, including: The […]

The Circular Action Alliance (CAA) says it achieved a key milestone on March 31, 2025, with the conclusion of Oregon’s first producer supply reporting cycle under the state’s Recycling Modernization Act. But the producer responsibility organization (PRO) is extending the deadline for companies that have not yet filed their reports in an effort to lower […]

Tokyo-based TOPPAN Holdings Inc. recently completed its purchase of the thermoformed and flexibles packaging (TFP) business of Sonoco Products Company. As part of this transition, TFP will now operate under the TOPPAN name, with its financial results reported in TOPPAN’s living and industry segment. Russell Grissett, president of Sonoco Flexible Packaging and chair of the […]

Russell Grissett, president of Sonoco Flexible Packaging, was elected as the new chair of the Board of Directors of the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) based in Annapolis, Maryland. Grissett succeeds William “Bill” Jackson, Ph.D., chief technology officer of Amcor Flexibles, who served as chair from March 2023 to March 2025. David Love, senior vice president […]

The Association of Packaging Recyclers (APR) plans an in-depth training program that will explore the systems and processes involved with the mechanical recycling of flexible packaging films. The course titled “APR Design® Training & Tour for Flexibles: Interactive Session on Film & Flex Recycling and Package Design” will be held on April 29, 2025, in […]

Oben Group has agreed to buy Vitopel do Brasil Ltda., a manufacturer of polypropylene (BOPP) films with facilities in Brazil. For Oben, the acquisition will establish local BOPP manufacturing in Brazil, expand its footprint as a global player in the industry, and bolster its position in the highly competitive flexible packaging films industry, according to […]

Thirty-four achievement awards representing 20 packages were presented March 7, 2025, during the69th Annual Flexible Packaging Achievement Awards Competition, which included a Highest Achievement Award that went to ProAmpac. Overall, the contest included 67 package submissions, resulting in 226 entries, because some packages competed across multiple categories, according to the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) that […]

The jobless report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows a continuing tight labor market in manufacturing, with the unemployment rate in the sector hitting 2.9%. BLS reported in the first week of March 2025 that 456,000 people were unemployed in the manufacturing sector in February, which compares to 450,000 people in February […]

UFlex, an India-based flexible packaging company, intends to invest $50 million in a manufacturing plant in Mexico to produce woven polypropylene (WPP) bags for markets in North and South America, according to a recent company report. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 80 million bags that will help meet the rising demand […]